America’s Ever-Increasing Polarization

This last week marked the long-awaited appearance of Hillary Clinton before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. This has only taken three years to arrange, mostly because of foot-dragging and the intentional hiding of e-mails by Hillary herself.

While it has taken a long time to get to this point, Representative Trey Gowdy has made it clear that he is determined to follow through and find out what happened and what failures caused the death of Ambassador Stevens and the others.

Yet to the Democrat Party, this has been nothing but a partisan witch hunt. Their stand has been clear from the beginning that the only reason for the investigation was to play politics and besmirch the names of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

This is where our country has gotten to. For the last who knows how many years, we’ve been becoming more and more divided. While the rate of obvious division has increased under President Obama, that’s not where it began.

He has pushed division between black and white, rich and poor and yes, between conservatives and progressives; but the political polarization goes back to way before his time.

Perhaps some form of polarization has always existed. Looking back, the current divide between conservatives and progressives started before World War II. It was common for the conservatives of that day to call FDR a socialist.

But even before that, we had the polarization between the north and the south, which resulted in the Civil War. In fact, political polarization started with the birth of this country, between the Federalists and the Whigs.

What has made the polarization of today’s political parties so obvious is the realignment of conservatives and liberal progressives under the banners of the two main parties.

Thirty years ago there were both conservatives and liberals in both parties. But today, the Democrat Party is purely liberal, while the Republican Party is a mixture of true conservatives and “moderates.” Of course, what is considered moderate today would have been considered extremely liberal 30 years ago.

This realignment has increased the divide between the two parties, as well as the country as a whole. Today you can’t find conservative Democrats or Liberal Republicans.

Nor can you find a whole lot of people who bother listening to the viewpoint of the other side. Progressives aren’t interested in hearing the conservative viewpoint and conservatives aren’t interested in hearing the liberal-progresive one.

Perhaps that is because the issues we are battling over today are much more serious than they were a generation ago. Today’s issues are over same sex marriages, elimination of our rights, the loss of our two-party political system to illegal immigration and massive redistribution of wealth.

While the foundations of these issues existed a generation ago, you didn’t see them on the surface; they were things that were happening below the radar.

Both liberalism and conservativism have changed over the years as well; but liberalism has changed all the more. The changes to conservative ideology have mostly been reactionary, dealing with liberalism’s constant push to go more and more extreme. But the real changes have happened in liberalism. What used to be called liberal has now become conservative.

More than anything, it is a much more blatant disregard for the principles this country was founded on. No longer do those who call themselves liberal see any need to hide the fact that they want to do away with the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the vision of the Founding Fathers. Instead, they want to create a progressive utopia which is totally controlled by progressive ideals and all other ideas are suppressed.

This new liberalism isn’t liberalism at all. Traditional liberalism is about denying the overreaching authority of government; but they want more government control. Strangely enough, defying government overreach has become a conservative trademark.

No, what we have today is “progressivism” which while often called “liberalism” is actually something quite different. More than anything, it’s pure socialism, Marxist variety. So, those who are spouting off about their progressive ideas are trying to turn us from being the United States of America to being the Soviet States of America.

But it won’t stop there. As Vladimir Lenin said, “The goal of socialism is communism.” So what they’re really espousing is a controlling communist government to take away our liberty, our livelihood and our money. No wonder we’re a country divided.

These same people are the ones who are controlling what is considered politically correct in this country. So, not only do they want to control our money, taking it from us to give it to the more deserving, they also want to control what we are allowed to say. Once again this smacks of communism, where the people’s freedom of speech is nonexistent.

Progressive liberals fall into two categories; the “elite” and the poor. The elite are Washington insiders, most of the mainstream media, much of Hollywood and a few liberal business moguls, all of whom are convinced that they are smarter than anyone else.

They know they’re smarter because they keep telling each other that. So, since they are smarter, they should take the burden of making decisions off of everyone else’s shoulders and tell us what to do. All we have to do is obey them, and we’ll have a utopia.

There’s only one problem with this. Few of these elite have any idea about reality. C’mon, does anyone really think that a Hollywood actor, who has made his fortune in make believe stories, has any idea about reality? Does anyone think that a professional politician, who has insulated themselves from the problems they cause everyday people have any idea of what it’s like to make a living and pay the bills? Yet these are the people who are saying that you and I should pay more taxes, so that they can give our money away.

Then there’s the second group of progressives. Those are the poor. This includes the legitimate poor (there really are some) and those who are sponging off the system (there are some of these too).

This group is going to go down with the ship, voting Democrat, because the Democrats have told them that the Republicans will take away their benefits, throw them out of their homes, kill them and eat their children. Since few of these people bother to read for themselves, they believe that drivel.

Finally, we have the third and final group of progressives. These are the people who have to vote with them, because the Democrats protect them and allow them to do what they want.

More than anything, this refers to the LGBT community and the Muslims. Both of these groups, who are minorities in this country, are the tails wagging the dog, because they are talking loud enough, making themselves out to be victims and spending enough money to get the attention of the media and the progressive politicians, who say, “Who cares if it’s true or not, they vote Democrat?”

Against this cornucopia of whiners, stealers and liars we have mainstream America; the silent majority. Those who just want to be left alone to live their lives.

They don’t have any great banner to gather under, because they don’t have the hate that the left says they do. No, it’s the left who are the purveyors of hate. But it’s also the left who controls the media. So, even though the conservatives are still the heart of America, their voice is not heard.

The left is in control and they like it that way. Even though both houses of Congress have a Republican majority, it doesn’t really matter. They can’t get anything past the President and the magic veto pen. Obama has managed to embolden the left and they are going to take advantage of it.

This is sad, but almost funny too. We, those of us on the right, don’t need the progressive liberals. They don’t add any value to our lives. But they need us. They can’t survive without us. Without mainstream America to pay the bills, they couldn’t do all their entitlements and government programs.

So, while the progressive politicians and the mainstream media are constantly blaming the right for the divisiveness in our government, it is clear where it is coming from. But then, in the eyes of the left, we on the right no longer have a right to our opinion; nor do we have a right to our freedom of expression. We have a right to agree with them or we have a right to keep quiet.

Is there hope still? Is there a chance for reconciliation? I seriously doubt it. While I am a man of much hope, I just don’t see much in the country to give me hope.

The political left is set on their ideology and they are determined to do whatever is necessary to take over the country. But those on the right aren’t as committed. All too many are willing to compromise, for whatever reason, rather than stand on principle.

Somewhere in all this, the will of the people has been lost. What we have is the will of the ruling elite; and they are using the division that they’ve caused, so that they can maintain control.

Bill White is the author of Conquering the Coming Collapse, and a former Army officer, manufacturing engineer and business manager. More recently, he left the business world to work as a cross-cultural missionary on the Mexico border.
Bill has been a survivalist since the 1970s, when the nation was in the latter days of the Cold War. He had determined to head into the Colorado Rockies, should Washington ever decide to push the button. While those days have passed, the knowledge Bill gained during that time hasn’t. He now works to educate others on the risks that exist in our society and how to prepare to meet them.
You can send Bill a message at editor [at] survivopedia.com.

TOM Wells|October 28, 2015

America is finished as a country! Having long been bought off by Zionist Israeli’s.thus this has fuelled the growth of capitalism and left the rich richer and poor even worse than ever, it’s gonna take another American revolution before anything ever changes!!

Andi|October 30, 2015

Mike, America does look finished more and more each day. The ruling elite keeps moving this country toward their socialist utopia that has them ruling over us mere goyim. They are smarter than us and know better how we should live our lives (at least in their warped worldview). The ruling elite has a plan and are making it happen. Most Americans wonder “what happened”. They have leaders, we are leaderless.
Conservatism is liberalism in slow motion! It is defined by resistance to the progressive action plan. America has been on a continually leftward shifting playing field. Like standing in a giant football field shifting imperceptibly to the left. A decade goes by and you notice you are at the 30 yard line when you thought you were still on the 50 yard line.
Rather than be conservative and react to the progressive onslaught, we need to get back to traditional principles and values, stand firm. As a people, we need to make a line in the sand–and then remember where it was.

Kim Simmons|October 27, 2015

The problem with telling it like it is, is that no one who should read this piece will read it. Progressives refuse to even read about the division they have been causing. They will not own up to until it is too late to reverse. The Right is a minority that has seen the direction the Left is taking and trying to warn the masses has proven to be a waste of time, but we are forever the optimist. If Obama and the Courts can allow sanctuary cities where Federal laws can not be enforced, why not States? An argument can be made in that direction that would cut off money to the Federal government from States that decide they will no longer follow Federal Laws and regulations. Once that is accomplished, then the Leftist has succeeded in destroying the United States. Might not have been their goal, but that will be the result, with an armed conflict to follow that will make the Civil War look like a picnic in comparison. All brought on because the Leftists refused to compromise as our forefathers did in creating and laying the foundation for this Great nation. That is the sole reason for the Left trying so hard to disarm individual Americans, they know those on the Right can and will fight against tyranny even it it is our own Federal government. It is a shame that Americans will destroy what so many died to protect because of a few who force their belief’s down other’s throats with lies and bribes.

jake|October 27, 2015

Decades of infection and manipulations by Liberals, Socialists and American Communists in our society, in education, our Justice System and media, at a time when the “Establishment Republican Party” has shown itself to be in league with the devil, leaves American’s who still cherish Freedom as represented in our Constitution with no where to go. American voters have become the lazy, ignorant base population that every good Socialist dreams about. This group is easily manipulated and devoid of the heretofore preferred qualities of patriotism, morality and integrity. Today these characteristics only indicate your tendency for clinging to old, outdated concepts and ideas. Yes, I feel it is too late, unless there is a move of God on our country. He is the only one that can help us now. However, I believe all these political and societal issues will be overshadowed by a severe financial collapse that will paralyze the country for years. I’m not usually this upbeat.

Jake,
Americans are not lazy to vote, they are disillusioned, feel powerless to affect the decision by our government about the domestic, or foreign policies. Since our skilled, unskilled, and the professional jobs leave the U.S., we are left with ever more people competing for fewer and less paying jobs. At the same time, the salaries of the CEO’s keep getting higher, and higher. Our people are unable to retire because they could not save enough to afford to retire. Using the Federal economic classification, about 47% of our population is either in the poverty, or bellow the poverty level. What did Romney say candidly to his backers; “I do not care about those 47% of our people.” Our politicians advocate ‘get more education, more skilled’ workers, but they never say that we have already abundance of highly skilled and professional workers already, but UNEMPLOYED. Getting more education is costly, and it does not guarantee one a job, well paying job. An estimated cost of getting a medical degree and the license to practice can cost $500,000 or more. What about the health insurance, the raising rents and home prices? Are you aware that to be in the middle class in the U.S., you need a yearly income from $100,000-$125,000 per year per family of four, depending where you live?
If you really wish to act as a patriot, ask yourself this question: “What would be the most efficient way to improve the lives of our people right now, and in the future?” Another good question is who actually runs our country, the 5% of the top, or the rest 95% of the of the population? Who benefits from the decisions made by our leaders?

Henry Debonis|October 27, 2015

Bill White is correct. I don’t fault Obama and the Liberal establishment for our problems. I fault the STUPID PEOPLE. They are the ones who put them in power.
That’s right THE STUPID ONES. Their attitude is “Give Me What I Want” and you got my vote. They think the salvation of this nation is in the hands of the Democratic Party which has embraced Liberalism as it’s core belief. Liberalism
with No Moral Beliefs is DEMONIC. When the devil failed to communize America he’s now trying with Liberalism and he is succeeding beyond his
wildest imagination. All once great societies and empires was ALWAYS done in with the collapse of God’s moral standards,ALWAYS. America is no exception. We are on A runaway train speeding to our destruction and the edge of the cliff is only A few miles ahead with the Liberal elite at the controls and the STUPIDS in this country telling them to proceed at even greater speed to victory of the Marxist Socialist State. America, thy name is “STUPID” I cry for you.

Mahatma Muhjesbude|October 27, 2015

I wouldn’t be so condescending in hubris to say that the people–if you mean the general populate– are ‘stupid’. Americans are really Not unintelligent. And not even that ignorant anymore with the easy access to information and knowledge brought by convenient electronics and the internet. The real issue is a general weakness and apathy brought about by deliberately engineered mind control and the psychological and emotional content of people being manipulated as a direct consequence. They trap us in a human forces of nature ‘comfort zone’ that ultimately depends upon socialist power elite control to maintain the normalcy bias.

As the article said, this has been going on with intentional agenda based planned determination for over 30 years.

If we can’t ‘undo’ this with the next election, it will only get worse.

Andi|October 30, 2015

You make a good point. It nauseates me every time I hear someone complain about “the Democraps” as if the Repubs as a group are any better! There are progressives in control of both the Republicrat and Demican parties. Once you stop drinking the lamestream media Kool-Aid, it is obvious that they are two wings of the same bird of prey.

Bob|January 8, 2016

Fascists are socialists idiot, their goal is totalitarian control same as any socialist. The liberals claim fascism is right wing, look at the Nazis they were socialists and they tried to disarm the citizen same as the liberals

Donald Nicholas|October 27, 2015

The dumbing down of Americans to history, science, civics, economics, art and literature has taken 80 years of progressive control over education to complete. The uniquely American culture, a combination of optimism and Christian principles, have been stomped down to become dominated by the ridicule of cultural metrosexual elitist. Patriotic duty and spirit is ridiculed. Traditional values identified as right winged nutcases. Honorable people made into laughing stocks. The majority knuckles under to a loud few to the point of surrender. It’ll take a while to unscrew this mess as it took the enemies a long while to get control (in a stealthy way). The American habit of over correction is what I fear.

Mr. white is confused about what is really going on in the U.S. First off, whom does he refer to as the ‘leftists’ in the U.S? Second, what do the so called ‘conservatives’ stand for? Does he see himself as a ‘conservative?’ What in his opinion is progressive in solving the social/economic/political problems? Throwing clichés in abundance seems to be his favorite political philosophy.
He mentions The three most important documents of our foundation, has he really ever read them, if he has, he could have realized that in all three, there is not a single sentence where one can find the description of the preferred economic system to be CAPITALISM. Our sacred documents talk about the welfare of the people, not the profits for the selected few.
Was Reagan conservative? He trebled the military budget even raided the SS fund for $300 billions which he never paid back. While he enlarged the government, he decimated the funds for EPA, dismantled the Professional Association of the Air traffic Controllers, reduced the Welfare funds, while reducing the taxes for the super wealthy. he was one the most regressive Presidents our country ever had. As a ‘conservative,’ he engaged grossly in supporting the fascist governments world wide, traded illegally weapons to Iran to free our of Intelligence (CIA) for the Middle east, sanctioned import of illegal drugs from Latin America to fund the illegal wars in Nicaragua, and so on, and so on.
Calling Obama a ‘leftist’ and ‘communist’ is an insult, Both Presidents Bill Clinton, and Obama did their best to hurt the true workers in the U.S., Clinton with N.A.F.T.A., and Obama with the T.P.P. (Trans Pacific Partnership). The T.P.P. will attempt to equalize (reduce) the wages of the U.S. labor, with those from the Pacific (under developed) countries.
I met a guy at the gas pumping station who defined our system not in terms of the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches, he defined as Johns (corporations, banks, and alike), Pimps (Lobbyists), and the Whores (politicians).
He said that in the developed industrial west European countries, there are labor Parties, unlike here in the U.S. where none of the candidates EVER say that they support the labor unions. a small wander that NONE of the Presidential candidates ever utter a word that they will outlaw the job exodus to other countries. None of the candidates ever mention the fact that the Federal Reserve is actually a privately owned counterfeit bank printing fiat money that is ‘loaned’ to our government, and will NEVER be paid back.
C’mon Mr. white, please define for us what is (in your opinion) a ‘conservative,’ or a ‘socialist,’ or a liberal? You mention communism, have you actually EVER read the Capital, or any book by Lenin (you quoted him)? I bet that you did not know that ‘Lenin’ was actually a nick name, his real name was Vladimir Ilich Ulanov.

I use to consider myself a liberal because as Christians we should help the poor and that we needed to help American workers earn a decent living wage. Today, that makes me a ultra conservative. It’s scary what liberals have become. They lie like Hillary when she says the Bible is her book of inspiration, and then she marches in a gay day parade and defends partial birth abortion.

Good commentaries mssrs.White &Bozidar! I resonate strongly with Bozidar’s assessment of Reagan,Clinton,Obama.It certainly is an interesting and challenging time to be engaged with Life! Good time to calmly prepare for coming ‘changes’.Myself,pray for continual ‘guidance’ with making wise decisions,and to keep the ‘heart’ involved with the decisions made.Blessings to all !

Dear Brian,
Thank you for the voice of confidence. Most of our people are inculcated to believe in the so called ‘American Dream,’ a fairy tale that in order to get rich, all one has to do is work hard. But the facts of life, the so called ‘realty’ is very different. Those who work the hardest, get the least, those on top get the most. When I was in the grad school, I asked my professor, “What would, in your opinion, be a FAIR wage for any human activity considered work?” My professor answered: ‘Who ever has a CORRECT answer to this question will solve most of our social/political/economic problems.’ I ask Mr. White and the audience the same question.
We Americans are never taught in all the schools as to what are the BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS. These are the Rights without which we are Dehumanized, or Die! The following are the BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS;
Food & shelter
Medical
Higher Education
Right to a job
Free Speech
Right to a life
In most industrially developed countries, these Basic Rights are not only recognized, but even guaranteed by Law. I ask you guys, which one of these Basic Rights are in the U.S. the Rights, and which ones are just the privileges for the wealthy?
Mr. White laments that our country is suffering from divisions, disintegrations, he is not accurate, what he fails to acknowledge is that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening ever faster, and wider. In Europe, the absolute difference in income between the top, and the bottom is about 40 times. In the U.S., I is 400 times! In 1972, the absolute difference I in income was ‘only’ 189 time! Thanks to the export of our jobs over seas, our wages have been dropping since 1972 (when adjusted for inflation). In1972, we were on the Top of the World in the per capita income.
Check out the median income now, and compare our lives to those of other countries, go back to 1972. That years Tricky Dick Nixon removed (‘temporarily’) the gold back-up from our currency, and voila, we started printing TRILLIONS of funny money to pay for the illegal wars.
Never mind the trivial differences between the various candidates who want to be President, ask the candidates this question; why do we have currently between 90,000,000 and 94,000,000 people out of work, 70,000,000 without medical insurance, and why is our WAR DEPARTMENT budget equal to the combined Military Budgets of the rest of the world countries? How do we justify close to 5,000,000 homeless Americans?
In the movie Zeitgeist, Krishna Murti says that, ‘it is not a sign of mental health to adjust to an irrational society.’ I think he is right, we do live under the IRRATIONAL conditions. We do need to change a lot of irrational things.

TOM|October 27, 2015

I thought we were one nation under GOD. Meaning would GOD turn his back on the less fortunate? Bozadar was right on. I never hear complaints about money going to another country. Try to help a person down on their luck and the are worthless welfare people. We went in a war that broke this country and we have suffered ever since. Companies that took our jobs overseas bu love to live the highlife over here . lets all work together without labels so we can make the U.S. great again in health care for all.Better education by paying teachers wages that will get the best to teach our children. THink about this would JESUS be a capitalist or a socialist?

Wilma Evans|October 27, 2015

Excuse me….4 people died in the Benghazi attack as opposed to over 7,000 civilians killed in the first 3 weeks of Pres. Bush’s illegal attack on Iraq. And let’s not forget the nearly 5,000 US Servicemen and women his illegal action killed. All in the name of Big Oil… not to “protect our rights”.

Andi|October 30, 2015

It almost sounds as if you are accusing Bush of being conservative. That is a good one! I remember Bush as a privileged family member of the ruling elite, who enlarged big brother powers through the deceptively named Patriot Act. He also trampled the sovereignty of other nations by waging war on them despite not having been attacked by them. Both Colin Powel and Dick Chenney admitted publicly that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks then used as justification for waging war on Iraq.
No, Bush was a Republican. That doesn’t mean he was conservative. He is what is referred to as a RINO (Republican In Name Only). The progressive Dems work hand in hand with their progressive RINO counterparts. Same worldview, same game plan. There are only slight variations in the speed in accomplishing the common goals.

tim|October 27, 2015

None of you find me a conservative. Yet, I consistently read Bill White, knowing he does what he accuses others: He further polarizes. It doesn’t surprize me.

According to Bill, there is nothing, nothing at all in liberal thought he agrees. No 40 hour work week, no child labor laws, no clean air or water, no worker protection, no Bill of Rights (including the 2nd Amendment), no citizen referendums.

To Bill, all these things occurred in some mysterious way, not due to liberals acting on progressive policy.

Perhaps Bill can explain how these liberal ideas came to be in many civilized countries including America?

Or Bill can explain, like the writer above, why liberal thoughts, like the Christian helping the poor, are “not” valid expressions of love and kindness?

Bill doesn’t appear knowledgeable about US political history. He seems focused on short term purely preference items.

While Bill appears now “anti” establishment, if a Republican is elected President? Bill may change to ‘support’ the establishment and ‘his’ president. Won’t that be fun to read?

Theuncannie1|October 28, 2015

It seems most of the problems we have in this country are the words used to describe either party. Who knows what a True Liberal is or a True Conservative? These words, are bandied about constantly, and the Real definition of either of them is a miasma of confusion for the average person. That’ s the way politicians want it because so long as people are confused by terminology, they will vote with their gut rather than their head. (i.e., whoever reflects their own ideas will get their vote). Words are very powerful, and the politicians beat us with them and misuse them to the point where they are almost meaningless. People who hate haven’t a clue WHY they hate, but have been convinced that “they” are the enemy (whoever they may be today). Our Rights have been usurped by those who want to be “in charge” of everything and everyone, further their own biases and cause the people to become either complacent or aggressive. Let’s call them what they are – Psychopaths! Let’s stop calling them “Liberals or Conservatives” because those names don’t describe them anymore. When the People of this country stand up and tell our ‘elected officials’ what we want, they do whatever they get Paid to do – by the corporations that own our government – yes they own it through their contributions and their lies. When newly elected officials get to Washington they are “trained” by the “good old boys” who have been lining their pockets and building their power base on the backs of the people. Before they’ve been in office a month they are already being groomed to become one of their team, and what the people want becomes a moot point.
We need to do a better job of Vetting those seeking public office – and not through the media (they are also owned by psychopaths) because they have to bend to the will of their corporate owners. The press is no longer ours, it belongs to those who own the corporation, and we can’t count on those reporters to give us the complete and unbiased truth (they would quickly lose their jobs). The truth is somewhere else, licking it’s wounds from being beaten into something unrecognizable.
The political system today reminds me of toddlers in daycare. When someone gets upset all fingers point to someone else to blame, but no one wants to accept responsibility for the act of wrongdoing. Our political system today is like pre-school, everyone is wearing diapers and they’re all full of poop!

M.g.|October 29, 2015

Whether you like Mr. White or not or whether your conservative,liberal,or moderate he has proven one thing by the comments on here and that is that the United States is deeply divided and I don’t believe it bodes well for our nations future and we better hope we’re not attacked by some other nation because we are so divided that we might amongst ourselves.

A truthful article. This article parallels my ebook which I published in 2010. It is called “IF I Had a Country” I wrote this book to save America for the next generation. I agree, it looks more and more like America can not be saved. Our enemies are many and so many of our citizens have been dimmed down. Because I love America so much I believe it is still worth a try, or we (the good folks) might have to start over. My ebook tells us how. It is free. I need help getting it into the hands of many. Go here for your copy. http://freeamericablogger.blogspot.com/

tim|October 29, 2015

Oh, John! You are too much!! You really gave me a belly laugh, all the way LOL.

You are the “good people”? that is funny!

So is Bill! According to Bill, there are three groups of Progressives (evil) and everyone else is good. Paul Ryan, Richard Nixon, Mitt Romney and you guys are ‘good’.

By what authority do you declare yourselves, along with Paul Ryan, ‘good”?

it appears you “good people” feel Hillary is more important than war on drugs, where police throw grenades into people’s home at 4 am, endless wars for oil profits (rather than renewables) nuclear weapons stockpiled to no purpose, the nuclear reactor still leaking in Japan, war crimes, a military budget of $1 Trillion per year, Billionaires (walmart family) receives millions in tax subsidies? “Good People” not only ignore, but deny these problems exist!

And have a “battleplan”, like in war, to “take back you country” and make America Great…again??

Apparently, the “good people” are really and truly scary to some of us in the middle. Just call me not progressive but bad!! hahaha

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